It is customary to transport goods and to store goods on pallets. Palletized goods are maintained in a position above the flooring which can be very advantageous in areas where there is flooding or where the condition of the flooring is either rough or of concern. Standard pallets are particularly useful in materials handling because forklift equipment can maneuver the pallets by inserting their forklift tines into channels provided by the pallet. Typically, pallets are constructed of wood. In the past, wooden pallets have provided advantages of economy, simplicity and durability, principally because of the lack of other suitable materials. However, wooden pallets are extremely heavy and require costly hand labor in their fabrication.
In the past decades, disposable pallets have been-proposed and, with the growth of the plastics industry, a wide variety of plastics have been investigated to determine their suitability for use in producing pallets. Plastic pallets can easily be molded and are stronger and lighter in weight than wooden pallets. They can also now be made with recyclable materials. Furthermore, plastic pallets are more durable than wooden pallets.
A recent plastic pallet that is light in weight, durable, capable of supporting heavy loads and is easy to manufacture and have a minimum number of parts that are preferably interchangeable are disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 644,928 filed Jan. 23, 1991 for a PLASTIC PALLET WITH DECK ASSEMBLY and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,976 for a PLASTIC PALLET. The pallets and connectors disclosed in this patent and application have proven to be highly successful. In an effort to improve thereon, to reduce costs and weight of the pallets and to increase strength yet not decrease durability, the pallet of the present invention was developed. The present pallet is useful in material handling and designed for use with forklift equipment.